Washington Wine Journey: Through Yakima Valley and Prosser

Up Highway 82 in Washington is the city of Prosser in the Yakima Valley, where the striking adobe-style Desert Wind Winery sits. With just four luxury guest rooms adjacent to the tasting room, it was a fabulous base for wine visits. Each well-appointed room has a balcony, includes a lovely European breakfast and a bottle of their most prized Ruah, a Merlot-based wine from grapes of the Wahluke Slope.

Just up the road in Prosser is also Kestrel Vintners, where winemaker Flint Nelson produces a stellar four tier of wines at a great value. You can even ship these home. Before taking off for the Red Mountain American Viticultural Area (AVA) just 40 miles up the road, we peeked into Kestrel Vintner's for a tasting and dinner prepared by talented local Chef Jessica Smith. While the winery doesn't serve dinner regularly, they have a full kitchen for special occasions and harvest events. Take a look at the photo gallery to see the wonderful regional dishes we tasted along with an array of Kestrel wines. Winemaker Flint Nelson takes great pride in his regional wines like the 2006 Signature Edition Boushey Merlot and a fabulously balanced 2006 Two Ton Cabernet Sauvignon. He's especially proud of the 2008 Semillon Ice Wine, harvested only when the temperature is below 17 degrees Fahrenheit. It's hand harvested and the delicate frozen fruit goes directly into the press for several days to extract every ounce of sugar. It's a palate pleaser and best reserved for special occasions.

Red Mountain, the most coveted AVA, is a short 25-minute drive east at the Benton city exit. Kiona Winery, the longest standing family-operated winery, planted some of the very first vineyards in the region back in 1975. Owner John Williams boasts a line-up of award wining Estate Chardonnay along with fruit-forward Cabernet and Merlot.

Please continue to follow along as the journey through Washington Wine continues in Red Mountain at Fidelitas Winery.

Tagged as: Wine-ing Woman, Washington, Kestrel Vintners, Kiona Winery, Red Mountain Washingon and Prosser Washington

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Laura Levy Shatkin served for 10 years as food and wine critic for the Chicago Reader. Later, she became an Emmy-nominated executive producer for Taste, a 30-minute food and wine show on NBC-5 Chicago, which later merged into www.WineTasteTV.com, where Ms. Levy is a partner/owner. Today, she teaches private wine classes and hosts wine parties for consumers and firms, and continues to tell the video stories of wine, girlfriends and wine travel on her TCW blog, Wine…ing Women.